For traditional SOFC anode materials, porous Ni—YSZ or Ni-GDC composites are often fabricated to achieve both high ionic conductivity and high electronic conductivity. However, even though nickel is highly electronically conductive and catalytically active, there are problems with it, such as volume change during thermal and reduction-oxidation cycling, carbon deposition when using hydrocarbon fuels, and low sulfur tolerance. Considering these issues, electronically conductive ceramics offer a promising alternative to nickel-based anodes. Nevertheless, the conductivity of electronically conductive ceramics is much lower than nickel, which is deleterious to the performance of SOFCs.
Others have developed all-ceramic anode materials with acceptable conductivity for SOFCs. Such anode materials include niobium doped strontium titanate (SNT), which can have good electronic conductivity (˜6.5 S-cm−1) after reduction at ˜930° C. and shows good reduction-oxidation stability. SNT and alternative conductive ceramics for SOFC anodes require conductivity activation by high temperature sintering of the material in a reducing environment or in-situ reduction at high temperatures. However, neither of these options is feasible for intermediate or low-temperature SOFCs. As such, there is a need for an improved low temperature anode material for use within solid oxide fuel cells. There is a need for new electronically conductive ceramic materials that meet both the conductivity and stability requirements of the anode and are compatible with intermediate- and low-temperature operation.